From Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe

Upcoming Events

Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Justin Souther to discuss writers—and their literature—in translation, and the cultural, political and artistic influences that shape them. This month’s book is The Door by Magda Szabo, translated by Len Rix.

This is the first guidebook to focus exclusively on the southern Appalachian grassy balds. The trails are organized into five geographic areas, with complete descriptions, maps, photos, and historical tidbits. At once a reference work and field guide, this book will encourage outdoor enthusiasts not only to experience the balds but to gain new appreciation for efforts to preserve and maintain these natural wonders.

Andrea Gibson’s poetry focuses on gender norms, politics, social reform and the struggles LGBTQ people face in today's society. A devoted fan base sees Gibson's work as a rallying cry for action and a welcome mat at the door of the heart's most compassionate room. For readers of Rupi Kaur and Atticus, the latest release is a book small enough to carry with you, with messages big enough to stay with you, from one of the most quotable and influential poets of our time.

Retrace Western North Carolina's cultural and natural history with one of its most beloved storytellers and folklorists, John Parris. This second collection of Parris's work has been repackaged with an updated cover and is back in print for the first time in decades. The new edition includes the complete original text and illustrations of this southern classic.

Asheville artist and teacher Gwen Diehn challenged herself to draw ten thousand objects and she succeeded! Come see the fruits of her labor in her original sketchbooks--many of which are handmade--and take home a catalog to linger over and share.

Across the ages, cats have provided their adopted humans with companionship, affection, mystery, and innumerable metaphors; cats cast a mirror on their beholders; cats endlessly captivate and hypnotize, frustrate and delight. And to poets, in particular, these enigmatic creatures are the most delightful and beguiling of muses (Charles Baudelaire: "the sole source of amusement in one's lodgings") as they go about purring, prowling, hunting, playing, meowing, and napping, often oblivious to their...

************Thomas had to cancel this part of his book tour. Stay tuned! We may reschedule for a later date.*************
In the aftermath of his father's untimely death and his family's indecision over what to do with the remains, Thomas Mira y Lopez became obsessed with the type and variety of places where we lay the dead to rest. The result is a singular collection of essays that weaves together history, mythology, journalism, and personal narrative into the author's search for a...

In the aftermath of his father's untimely death and his family's indecision over what to do with the remains, Thomas Mira y Lopez became obsessed with the type and variety of places where we lay the dead to rest. The result is a singular collection of essays that weaves together history, mythology, journalism, and personal narrative into the author's search for a place to process grief. Mira y Lopez explores unusual hallowed grounds--from the world's largest cryonics institute in southern...

Maggie Anderson will present Dear All and Jan Beatty will present Jackknife: New and Selected Poems. Dodge the SoCon crowd downtown and head West to hear two of our favorite poets read in the warm and cozy Flatiron Writers Room at 5 Covington Street in West Asheville.

Chris Dombrowski was playing a numbers game: two passions--poetry and fly-fishing; one child, with another on the way; and an income hovering perilously close to zero. Enter a miraculous email: “Can't go, it's all paid for, just book a flight to Miami.”
Thus began a journey that would lead to the Bahamas and to David Pinder, a legendary bonefishing guide.

Join host Bruce Roth for a lively discussion on topics of current interest including war and peace, the economy, the environment, and other hot political topics. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir, by Patrisse Khan-Cullors is this month’s selection.

Journey back to the 1960s and 1970s with author Elizabeth Osta as she recalls in clear detail a lived experiment in activism, spirituality, education, Catholicism, the meaning of vows, and the dreams and sometimes harsh realities of following a calling.

YA superstar Stephanie Perkins will be here to help us celebrate the blistering sequel to the instant New York Times bestselling Nemesis by Brendan Reichs. This book is action packed! Brendan is a hoot, y’all, so you won’t want to miss hearing him talk about his books and about trading life as a litigation attorney for the writing life.

Malaprop’s hosts storytime with Miss Malaprop! Join us with your wee ones every week on Wednesdays at 10 am for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Together, we’ll introduce children to the wonderful world of books! Recommended for ages 3-9.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Dark Side of the Moon, Bill Kopp celebrates the ingenuity with which Pink Floyd rebranded themselves following the 1968 departure of Syd Barrett. Not only did the band survive Barrett's departure, but it went on to release landmark albums that continue to influence generations of musicians and fans.

This book integrates the fields of expressive arts and ecotherapy to present a nature based approach to expressive arts work. It highlights attitudes and practices in expressive arts that are particularly relevant to working with nature, including cultivating an aesthetic response to the earth and the relationship between beauty and sustainability.

Hosted by the Asheville Art Museum, this monthly discussion is a place to exchange ideas that relate to artworks and the art world. Bring your book and a brown-bag lunch to make the most of your midday break! This month’s pick is Villa America by Liz Klaussmann.

Join us in celebrating the paperback release of this beautiful and poignant novel. A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi--and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan...

Malaprop’s hosts storytime with Miss Malaprop! Join us with your wee ones every week on Wednesdays at 10 am for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Together, we’ll introduce children to the wonderful world of books! Recommended for ages 3-9.

Her books, projects, and credits are too copious to list here, but you might know Kalman’s signature style from her work with The New Yorker magazine, from her recent book for adults, Beloved Dog, or her children’s book, Ooh La La, Max in Love. We are over the moon that she will be in our store for an event that is free and open to all!

Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across different periods of history. We’re creating a book club that tackles the challenging subjects, hence “NOTORIOUS.” This month’s pick is The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist.

Set amid the captivating world of those whose lives unfold at 40,000 feet, one of our favorite scribes of literary suspense unveils a spellbinding story of memory, of the giddy pleasures of alcohol and the devastating consequences of addiction, and of murder far from home.

Join a special iteration of our Literary Karaoke series for Asheville’s Third Annual Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald Day festivities. Tom Dowling, Michael Crosa, and Allison Stinson will read and you are invited to sign up that night to read from jazz-age literature, too! Monika Gross from At-A-Site Theater will be offering one-to-one readings of Zelda’s writing following the karaoke party. Costumes encouraged, but not required, for even more fun!

YA PANEL with AMBER SMITH (THE LAST TO LET GO) and BRENDA RUFENER (WHERE I LIVE), moderated by Amy Reed
When her mother is arrested for killing Brooke's abusive father, Brooke must confront the shadow of her family's violence and dysfunction in this provocative new novel from NYT bestselling author, Amber Smith. Debut author Brenda Rufener delivers a heart-wrenching and evocative story about Linden, a homeless teen secretly living in her high school. Together with her makeshift family of...

The remarkable truth you are about to discover--one that you already know deep down in your bones--is that the idea of perfection can't bring you the joy, passion, and purpose you are craving. What you are looking for, as author and Women For One founder Kelly McNelis will show you, is your messy truth. It's the part of you that's perfectly imperfect and that contains your wholeness: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Following a family tragedy, 18-year-old Gabe LoScuda suddenly finds himself thrust into the role of caregiver for his ailing grandfather. Between the shopping trips and the doctor visits with Grandpa, Gabe and his friend John try to salvage their senior year, meet girls, and make the varsity baseball team. It doesn't take long for Gabe to realize that going to school and looking after a grandfather with Alzheimer's is more work than he ever imagined. And when long-lost Uncle Nick appears on the...

Malaprop’s hosts storytime with Miss Malaprop! Join us with your wee ones every week on Wednesdays at 10 am for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Together, we’ll introduce children to the wonderful world of books! Recommended for ages 3-9.

Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
You can't think about travel without thinking about luggage. And baggage has baggage. Susan Harlan takes readers on a journey with the suitcases that support, accessorize, and accompany our lives. Along the way, she shows how the materials of travel - the carry-ons, totes, trunks, and train cases of the past and present - have stories to tell about displacement, home, gender, class,...

Cynthia Surrisi is back with another great mystery!
For decades, Gusty's Cafe has been a beloved staple in Maiden Rock, Maine. Quinnie Boyd's dad runs the cafe, just like Quinnie's granddad before him. But the family business has new competition when a bad-boy chef from Boston opens his own place in the small vacation town.
The new restaurant takes fancy dining to the extreme. Still, that's not a crime . . . but when things start to go wrong at Gusty's, Quinnie suspects foul play. Are...

Everything You Love Will Burn takes readers to the dark, paranoid underbelly of America, a world in which the white race is under threat and the enemy is everywhere.
Six years ago, Vegas Tenold embedded himself among the members of three of America's most ideologically extreme white nationalist groups-the KKK, the National Socialist Movement, and the Traditionalist Workers Party. At the time, these groups were part of a disorganized counterculture that felt far from...

Malaprop’s hosts storytime with Miss Malaprop! Join us with your wee ones every week on Wednesdays at 10 am for classic and contemporary stories sure to enchant and entertain. Together, we’ll introduce children to the wonderful world of books! Recommended for ages 3-9.

Local author Paly’s book is about taking control of your life. That's it. What you do with that control is entirely up to you. Inside, you'll find things you may not have learned in school, but you absolutely need to know. The tips, advice and exercises are helpful at any age, but especially for a young person wanting to become an independent high schooler or adult.

Join host and Malaprop’s bookseller Justin Souther to discuss writers—and their literature—in translation, and the cultural, political and artistic influences that shape them. This month’s book is by Iraq + 100: The First Anthology of Science Fiction to Have Emerged from Iraq, edited by Hassan Blasim with multiple translators.

An international thriller involving New York photographer, Channey Moran, who joins a group of mercenaries traveling to Somalia to rescue Americans taken by force from their sailboat in the Indian Ocean. Channey's job is to stage a fashion shoot as a camouflage for getting mercenaries in place to go after the pirates holding the Americans. The book borrows from Riley’s experience as a highly successful career photographer. Help celebrate this local author’s second book in this exciting series...

A heartwarming and lavishly illustrated picture book to remind young readers that even in the darkest of times, "words change worlds." When Cate the caterpillar discovers a dried-up garden and the grumpy critters who call it home, it's up to her to show Davey Dung Beetle, Pete Potato Bug, and Walter Worm how to make it bloom. Can Cate teach them to use the magic of friendship and the power of positive thinking to bring their garden back to life? A perfect Spring gift book for the little ones in...

A heartwarming and lavishly illustrated picture book to remind young readers that even in the darkest of times, "words change worlds." When Cate the caterpillar discovers a dried-up garden and the grumpy critters who call it home, it's up to her to show Davey Dung Beetle, Pete Potato Bug, and Walter Worm how to make it bloom. Can Cate teach them to use the magic of friendship and the power of positive thinking to bring their garden back to life? A perfect Spring gift book for the little ones in...

The system is in tatters, but we can fight back. Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal doesn't just explain the symptoms, she diagnoses and treats the disease itself. In clear and practical terms, she spells out exactly how to decode medical doublespeak, avoid the pitfalls of the pharmaceuticals racket, and get the care you and your family deserve. She takes you inside the doctor-patient relationship and to hospital C-suites, explaining step-by-step the workings of a system badly lacking transparency. This...

Threatened with destruction unless he fashions a wife for his Creature, Victor Frankenstein travels to England where he meets Mary and Kitty Bennet, the remaining unmarried sisters of the Bennet family from Pride and Prejudice. As Mary and Victor become increasingly attracted to each other, the Creature looks on impatiently, waiting for his bride. But where will Victor find a female body from which to create the monster's mate?

Delicious vegan meals are fun to prepare in your own home kitchen with Laura Theodore's newest cookbook, Jazzy Vegetarian's Deliciously Vegan: Plant-Powered Recipes for the Modern, Mindful Kitchen. This modern guide to vegan eating is a full color, 320-page cookbook with beautiful full-color photos on nearly every page.
In addition to over 175 plant-based recipes, Laura helps readers learn what it takes to stock and cook in a well-equipped vegan kitchen, with these essential Top...

By the bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun, and written with Frances Mayes's trademark warmth, heart, and delicious descriptions of place, food, and friendship, Women in Sunlight is the story of four American strangers who bond in Italy and change their lives over the course of an exceptional year.

Jennifer Pharr Davis, record holder of the FKT (fastest known time) on the Appalachian Trail, reveals the secrets and habits behind endurance as she chronicles her incredible accomplishments in the world of endurance hiking, backpacking, and trail running. With a storyteller's ear for fascinating detail and description, Davis takes readers along as she trains and sets her record, analyzing and trail-testing the theories and methodologies espoused by her star-studded roster of mentors. She...

Eric G. Wilson's books include Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy, Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away, How to Make a Soul: The Wisdom of John Keats, and My Business Is To Create: Blake's Infinite Writing. He teaches at Wake Forest University.
Here's our synopsis again:
Inspired by the work of David Lynch and William Blake, Polaris Ghost presents a fractured Bildungsroman interrupted by meditations on marriage, addiction, depression, and parenting. In scenes...

In this hilarious and heartfelt middle grade debut, Gertie is a girl on a mission to be the best fifth grader ever in order to show her estranged mother that Gertie doesn't need her--not one bit!
Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest...

The Asheville/WNC Writers Coffeehouse is a monthly meeting where area writers come together to discuss the business of writing, gather shared knowledge, and network. Open to writers of all experience levels, whether you’re a New York Times-bestselling author or someone just thinking about picking up a pen and putting it to paper. Co-hosts include local authors Jake Bible, Beth Revis, Jamie Mason, and Nathan Ballingrud.

The acres and acres of fertile soil, the two-hundred-year-old antebellum house, all gone. And so is the woman who gave it to Jack, the foster mother only days away from dying, her mind eroded by dementia, the family legacy she entrusted to Jack now owned by banks and strangers. And Jack's mind has begun to fail, too. The decades of bare-knuckle fighting are now taking their toll, as concussion after concussion forces him to carry around a stash of illegal painkillers and a notebook of names...

Nina's once-sweet life has unexpectedly turned sour. Her marriage is over, her job is in jeopardy, and her teenage daughter is slipping away from her. Then her father dies and issues with Nina's mother come to a head; her estranged brother, Ray, comes home; and her sister, Lola, is tempted to blow a big family secret out of the water. They say the truth will set you free, but first it will make a huge mess of things.
All Nina's got left is her final photography assignment shooting images...

From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Interestings, an electric, multilayered novel about ambition, power, friendship, and mentorship, and the romantic ideals we all follow deep into adulthood, not just about who we want to be with, but who we want to be.To be admired by someone we admire - we all yearn for this: the private, electrifying pleasure of being singled out by someone of esteem. But sometimes it can also mean entry to a new kind of life, a bigger world....

In his powerful fourth novel, Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of Cold Mountain, vividly bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil War. With her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects a life of security as a Mississippi landowner. He instead pursues a career in politics and is eventually appointed president of the Confederacy, placing Varina at the white-hot center of one of...

In his powerful fourth novel, Charles Frazier returns to the time and place of Cold Mountain, vividly bringing to life the chaos and devastation of the Civil War. With her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects a life of security as a Mississippi landowner. He instead pursues a career in politics and is eventually appointed president of the Confederacy, placing Varina at the white-hot center of one of...

With her husband Sam off on a trip to Europe, Miss Julia reckons it's about time to roll up her sleeves and be of some use to her community. It's then that she hears that the nosy do-gooder Madge Taylor and the new pastor Rucker are embarking on a mission to buy up the vacant house next door to Hazel Marie and establish a group home for wayward teenagers. No stranger to taking in the down-and-out herself, Miss Julia is shocked to learn Madge and the pastor are keeping the project a secret. When...

All paws on deck! Everyone's favorite Hollywood cat is ready for his big break in the final book of the Mr. Puffball trilogy.
Purr-fect for middle grade fans of highly illustrated, funny series such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Origami Yoda, My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, and The Popularity Papers.
After travelling the country as El Gato's stunt cat for way too long, Mr. Puffball is ready for his BIG break--and what's bigger than REALITY TV?
He'll kick butt on Feline Ninja Warrior and...

From the critically acclaimed writer of A Different Sun, a Southern coming-of-age novel that sets three very different young people against the tumultuous years of the American civil rights movement...
Tacker Hart left his home in North Carolina as a local high school football hero, but returns in disgrace after being fired from a prestigious architectural assignment in West Africa. Yet the culture and people he grew to admire have left their mark on him. Adrift, he manages his father's...

Malaprop's is thrilled to welcome back one of the most beloved fantasy writers publishing today! Whether you are a devoted fan or are new to the worlds she builds, we think you will want to be here for this one. This event is free and open to all. Signing line preference will be given to customers who purchase their books at Malaprop's. We will give you a signing line ticket at the point of sale. Those without a ticket can join the line after ticket holders.
We take pre-orders, too!...